Lifestyle blog for the modern muslimah.

Month: July 2015

With Eid only a few days away, I’ve been surrounded by bits of paper, gift wrap, tape, tags – you name it! I also have this wishlist of baking to get to and feel like I should have done this SO much earlier, but you know – life.

I am also helping my parents prepare envelopes for Eidie and thought to create some fun stickers to seal the envelopes with. Alternatively, you can also just print directly onto the envelope. I am sharing the graphic you can use in Microsoft word or any design program for download. I have created a sample #10 envelope Microsoft word document here and the png of the graphic here. Calligraphy graphic source.

To make it easier for other last-minuters, I’ve rounded up a list of easy, ready-to-pickup products that you can gift for this year’s Eid. These are based on pickup from various GTA locations. I’ve also included a preview of my gift pile to spark some inspiration! My favourite part of this pile is the Blossom and Bean S’mores gift pack, it’s pretty much packaged and ready to enjoy on someone’s backyard grill after a nice Eid feast!

I always like hosting dinner parties – it’s just something I always get really excited about, so long as I have a small group of people to entertain. Having a smaller group of friends or family at a time means I can pay more attention to the details, offer better food and also enjoy myself.

A few weeks ago I hosted my friends to a dinner party for Iftaar and had a blast setting everything up, paying attention to the little details and getting really festive. I got some great ideas from a new blog I came across called Hello Holy Days. I discovered the blog when they followed me on Twitter and I am so glad they did! It’s a great resource to get DIY ideas for Muslim holidays like Ramadan, Eid and Hajj while offering wonderful free printables on the site.

I used the free lantern printable which was originally for this great lantern streamer DIY and did a little Photoshop magic to use the template to create my menu cards instead. I also used this cute place card idea to make my own version. I will definitely be using some of these fab ideas for fun and creative Eid dinner or Eid party decor.

I served my guests a creamy tomato Basil Soup, home made Crudites bread with brie and chipotle goat cheese, quiche and ended with watermelon slices and a cookie butter mousse in chocolate cups for dessert. I’ve shared a few recipes for the iftaar below the images.

What do you like to eat during Ramadan, Iftaar or Eid? Follow me on on Instagram or Twitter for more fun Eid decorating ideas!

Recipes

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

This one’s easy! Get a can of Campbell’s creamy tomato soup (I told you it was easy!), dried basil, chili flakes (I used whole chilies crushed for a better flavour), basil leaves, Havarti cheese and some garlic and olive oil.

In a saucepan throw in some olive oil and chopped garlic and let the garlic brown, toss in your can (or two) of soup and let it heat for a while on M, add in your dried garlic and some chili flakes and let it sit for a few minutes to heat up. Once it is ready, ladle into a bowl to serve and use the fresh basil leaves to garnish. I served this with sliced multi-grain bread and small cubes of Havarti. I love tossing in small chunks of cheese into my soup!

Thyme & Sea Salt Crudite bread

Another easy one. Go to your local grocery store with a bakery – my favourite is Longos. Get them to thinly slice your fresh loaf. Drizzle the pieces with olive oil generously and sprinkle on some sea salt and thyme. I get my Thyme fresh from the farmers market, dry it out and store it in a Ziploc bag to keep it flavourful. Place your pieces on a baking tray and pop into the oven for about 20 minutes on the highest rack of your oven at 350. They should be slightly browned and really crispy!

I shared a quick blog post yesterday with a great idea for an Eid gift from My Fresh Kitchen. I have collaborated with the brand to create beautiful gift baskets that are ready to go for Eid gifting this year.

These are great Eid gift ideas for your mom, mother-in-law, and anyone else in your family that loves to eat cook! Think of all the BBQ grilling that will happen post-Ramadan.

As Ramadan has just passed the halfway mark, I thought I would share some custom Eid cards that were requested my by friend Nusrat over at My Fresh Kitchen. If you are looking for some unique Eid gift ideas, I would definitely take a look at her website!

My Fresh Kitchen is a Toronto-based business that specializes in gourmet products. Their products contain no additives or preservatives and, as the name states, are amazingly fresh (& locally made). They have a wide array of spices, salsas as well as some sweet treats that are nothing but delicious – I highly recommend you check them out!

Have you been thinking of your Eid gifts and cards for this year? What do you think of these?

Need to place an order for your one-of-a-kind custom Eid cards for this year? Send me an email or message me via my Facebook page!